Thursday, June 30, 2011

Rock Collecting & A Rock Journal

The girls and I went on a rock collecting adventure a couple of days ago. It was on our summer bucket list, so it was definitely something I was preparing to do. After running various ideas through my head about where to take them, I ended up with the most simple idea of all... walking through our own neighborhood. We had a lot of fun wandering around and enjoying each others company.

We turned our trip into an art project. I made each of the girls an art journal and we took those along and a bag of crayons. I taught Lizzie to do rock rubbings and she was soon a girl on a mission, running around, finding rocks, then doing a rubbing.

If you want to make your own rock journals, you can print out the cover here. It prints out on 8.5 x11 inch paper and then you fold in half for the front and back. I found it works best on card stock, but any paper would work, so don't let that stop you! Then add as many interior pages as you want, I used two pieces of paper per journal, which was 4 pages. I didn't want too many pages to make it overwhelming for my girls.

To hold the pages together I used embroidery thread. I used one continuous thread, sewing through the top, then through the bottom. I left the ends on the outside of the journal, so I could tie them together. (You could also staple!)

So head out and look for rocks! Use the journal to record observations, practice drawing rocks or make rubbings like we did. Turn your trip into a scavenger hunt and search for specific colors, sizes or shapes of rocks. Bring some home and create with them. Here are a few fun projects I've seen lately.

Every time I go on vacation or out to our childhood farm or just to remember a special day I collect rocks and bring them home as keepsakes. They mean very much to me. For example, last summer I took a vacation with my little yorkie and went to Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, The Bitterroot Mountains, Lewis & Clark Trails and collected so many rocks I hardly had room to sleep in the back seat. I travel as cheaply as I can so I can take trips. I use the travel stops and I sleep in my vehicle. I take a cooler and make my own food. It's well worth it to go to exciting places I've heard about all my life. I do not have a very high paying job and I am alone so I do the best I can. I have a belief that there's no better souvenir from a place than a rock. On my trip last summer throughout the northwestern part of our country I notices a very drastic change in the colors of the rocks along the highways and in the parks. For instance, Glacier Park has a teal color rock, Devil's Tower, SD has a red-orange rock, Helena, MT has an almost maroon color. In Lolo Creek where Traveler's Rest (Lewis & Clark's campsite) I found rocks that had gold sparkles in them. In the Bitterroot River there were islands that had some pretty good sized rocks that were spotted and a salmon color. The rocks at both Scott's Bluff and Guernsey where the wagon train ruts are the rocks are white and very dry texture. I love this hobby and when I get home I have a piece of the place I enjoyed visiting so much!